Upper Valley News Forum, Oct. 7: Important Choice in November

Important Choice in November

In a recent Primary Source column, John Gregg sketched out the importance of the Sullivan County District 1 race for a seat in the New Hampshire Legislature.  Because the next 10 months will see so many important questions come before the House, I think greater attention must be paid to the questions of consequence that our representative will have to address.

What will happen to the Medicaid expansion bill that allowed so many Granite Staters (more than 50,000) to get health insurance and care? The expansion passed by one vote in 2016, and in January the Legislature must address it again. Do both of our candidates support it? Or will a Republican majority find a way to kill it as part of the GOP plan to end Obamacare?

The New Hampshire GOP has passed a bill designed to suppress voting by citizens. A part of that bill (SB3) has already been struck down by a New Hampshire court. Will the person who becomes our representative vote to continue voter suppression efforts while claiming “voter fraud,” or will our chosen person say no to voter suppression?

The House GOP majority in Washington has passed a bill making abortions illegal after 20 weeks. That bill would provide for criminal prosecution of physicians who perform later abortions. One of our candidates supports that legislation, the other does not. Does our district want such a law in New Hampshire?

The horror in Las Vegas has turned our world on edge, if not upside down. Is it now time for our Legislature to have a conversation about how to prevent the devastation of mass shootings, or is it, as the GOP believes, still “too soon?”

The upcoming months will see a remarkable number of important issues come before the New Hampshire House. We have a chance on Nov. 7 to guide the way in which those issues are addressed and resolved. For me, the better choice, on the issues, is Brian Sullivan, Democrat from Grantham.

Peter Hoe Burling,  Cornish

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